APRIL 9, 2014

Conservative Caucus calls for House to go to court to challenge unconstitutional presidential actions

The Conservative Caucus (TCC), in a letter to House Judiciary Committee Chairman Robert Goodlatte, has urged the House to challenge in court some of the Obama administration policies which violate the Constitution’s separation of powers. The letter supported passage of Rep. Tom Rice’s STOP (Stop This Overreaching Presidency) resolution, H Res 442, which would direct the House leadership to proceed with a lawsuit.

TCC Chairman Peter Thomas pointed out in his letter that H Res 442 does not require the approval of the Senate or the President, allowing the House to act entirely on its own.

Thomas insisted that immediate action was required, saying that “No other president has so consistently ignored Congress and usurped legislative powers.”

The House recently passed HR 4138, which would amend Federal law to establish procedures for the House, Senate, or both jointly to challenge executive branch actions in the Federal courts, with an appeal directly to the Supreme Court. The bill is expected to die in the Democratic-controlled Senate.

The STOP resolution calls for a lawsuit against any or all of four actions by the Obama administration, each of which involved a policy which effectively amended existing law by executive action rather than by going through Congress. These policies include failure to enforce the employer mandate and minimum insurance coverage provisions of ObamaCare, treatment of some illegal aliens as if they were legal residents, and granting state waivers for the workfare requirements of the Welfare Reform Act.

The Conservative Caucus is a grass roots, public policy action organization, founded in 1974. It was active in defeating the SALT II Treaty, repealing the Catastrophic Coverage Act, blocking the Clinton health-care takeover, persuading the House of Representatives to impeach President Clinton, and preventing passage of amnesty for illegal aliens.